DHL tightens checks on freight traffic from Yemen: ministry

Air freight carrier DHL has tightened checks at its German hub on goods coming from Yemen at the request of the US authorities, Germany's transport ministry said late Saturday.

"Because of a request from the American air security authorities and in consultation with the German interior ministry, we have asked DHL to monitor freight from Yemen at its freight hub in Leipzig," eastern Germany, said a statement.

The group, which is part of Deutsche Post, had immediately acted on the request following Friday's discovery of two parcel bombs in Dubai and in England, the statement added.

Earlier Germany said it had no indication of a specific security threat against it, as it emerged a suspect package found on a US-bound plane in Britain was routed via the German city of Cologne.

US air freight carriers UPS and Fedex said on Friday they would stop operating in Yemen.

US officials say the two parcel bombs, which had been addressed to synagogues in the US city of Chicago, President Barack Obama's former power base.

In Yemen the authorities said Saturday they had seized 26 other suspect packages and arrested air transport company employees and workers in the cargo division of Sanaa airport, said a source close to the investigation.